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Business and Leadership and Lessons from The Goonies

Well hello 2019! It was a nice Holiday break, but it is now time to get back to business. That means, more Wyse Coaching blogs for your enjoyment. In 2019 we will be publishing blogs on Tuesdays every other week, so stay tuned for when they come out. If you would like the Wyse Coaching blogs sent directly to your inbox, make sure to sign up to the mailing list here: blog.

I spent a lot of time this holiday season listening to podcasts and one of my new favorites is The Rewatchables from The Ringer Network (https://www.theringer.com/the-rewatchables). In this podcast, Bill Simmons (from ESPN fame), and his staff at The Ringer, breakdown movies that can be watched again and again, like we did when we did not have a gazillion streaming options. My favorites have been the Good Will Hunting, Dazed and Confused, and Jerry McGuire episodes. Check them out.

Anyway… listening to these podcasts reminded me of some great movies that I at some point owned on DVD and watched again and again. Many of them have great quotes that we can certainly use to start leadership discussions. And since Bill Simmons used to feature quotes in his blog, I am doing the same for mine. (mimicry is the greatest form of flattery).

The movie I picked to kick this off is The Goonies. This was the first movie I watched multiple times in the theater. In fact, I saw it every day for a week straight. I was I was mesmerized by the story of friendship, overcoming an impossible challenge, treasure hunting and booby traps (yes, I said booby, stop giggling!). If you have been living under a rock and have no idea what I am talking about, here is a synopsis: The Goonies.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the movie and how we can learn some leadership lessons from it:

Stef (Martha Plimpton), one of the older kids, says this as The Goonies are starting to get into some trouble at an abandoned restaurant.

Yeah, leadership can feel like that sometimes. So can project management. We get caught up in making sure things are getting done, that mistakes are not being made, that the job is completed. We get into these patterns of extreme oversight which just leads to us just micromanaging and frankly, disengaging our teams. If you do not want to feel like you are babysitting, challenge yourself to focus on developing your team, to teaching them and not just reviewing and doing the work for them. You can do that by asking more questions, asking for their solutions instead of just directing them. If you treat people like babies, don’t be surprised when they act like them.

“Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what’s right for them. Because it’s their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it’s our time. It’s our time down here”.

Maybe the most famous quote of the movie, this gem is uttered when the goonies are about to give up the treasure hunt and go up a well bucket to their regular existence. Mikey (Sean Astin), the lead of the movie reminds them of what they are trying to accomplish.

As a team member we can sometimes fall in the trap of waiting for direction from our leaders instead of taking action and doing what we know needs to be done. True accountability is being able to identify what needs to be done and taking ownership to making it a reality. When we look at our teams, we are just as responsible for their success as our leaders. It is our time! We need to make sure that we ask ourselves constantly if we are doing enough to support our teams’ goals. For us.

“Chester Copperpot! Don’t you guys see? Don’t you realize? He was a pro. He never made it this far. Look how far we’ve come. We’ve got a chance”.

At this point in the movie the Goonies are terrified of their prospects. That is when Mikey puts things into perspective (kid was wise beyond his years). He reminds them that they have already come farther than they could imagine, farther than most people had ever got. We should all take a lesson from that. At times, we can only see the daunting task in front of us, not realizing how far we have come to get to the point we are now at. Instead of fretting over the uncertainty of the road ahead, look at the things that have made you successful so far and double down. Keep working at it, you have made it this far, what can stop you from getting even further?

“Yeah, but you know what? This one, this one right here. This was my dream, my wish. And it didn’t come true. So I’m taking it back. I’m taking them all back”.

This might be my favorite scene in the movie. The Goonies find themselves under a wishing well and see all the quarters that people have thrown down the well. They start collecting them when someone says that these coins are other people’s wishes and that it would be wrong to take them. That is when Mouth (Cory Feldman) says the quote above.

Now I know that it seems bleak at first but hear me out. Look at this quote as one to inspire action instead of one of unfulfilled wishes. The truth is that most of us live our lives wishing that good things happen to us, but few of us put in the work to make them happen. So when you think about taking back your quarter because your dream did not come true, don’t do it out of spite. Do it because you don’t need a wish to bring you good fortune. You can make your dreams a reality by taking action.

There you have it. Nothing like a good 80's movie to start 2019 on the right foot.

HEY YOU GUUUYS!! Andre Mello is a Business Coach and is a big fan of adventures that lead to success. Andre has been in Marketing and Leadership for over 17 years. If you would like to connect with him, please visit www.wysecoaching.com.